17 smugglers arrested, half ton of hashish seized in Saudi drug busts

:: Customs officers at the Al-Ahsa airport in Saudi Arabia have thwarted an attempt to smuggle around 110,000 Captagon pills found hidden in the luggage of a passenger who was traveling to the Kingdom.

“During the inspection procedures of the passenger’s luggage, the customs officers were able to find the Captagon pills that were hidden inside boxes and were carefully placed in hidden areas inside a wooden table,” said Othman Al-Ghamdi, director general of customs at Al-Ahsa International Airport.

In the past two weeks, Saudi customs officers have managed to prevent the smuggling of more than half a ton of hashish, as well as arresting 17 smugglers in various operations.

Forces in southern Saudi Arabia have foiled many smugglers from implementing their plans, said Saher bin Mohammed Al-Harbi, official spokesperson of the Border Guards.

He added that many people have been arrested coming to Saudi Arabia from Yemen through the borders at Jazan and Najran, explaining that the authorities were very firm in dealing with the issue.

As a result of a recent campaign, Al-Harbi said authorities have arrested 11 Ethiopians, two Somalis, two Saudis and one Yemeni for smuggling-related charges, with a total of around 544 kilograms of narcotics found. The suspects were transferred to the relevant authorities so that legal procedures against them can continue.